Researchers say that around 25 Brits per day are having their legs amputated due to a 'hidden' arterial disease caused by smoking. The said disease usually comes with no symptoms until the occurrence of a heart attack or stroke.
The Mirror reported that the British Heart Foundation (BHF) has urged smokers to quit the habit after their study found out that a million of adults could be living with a serious illness called peripheral arterial disease (PAD). Around 90 percent of those who suffer PAD are smokers and ex-smokers, and around 30 percent of these patients had their legs amputated.
According to BHF, PAD occurs when there is a buildup of fatty deposits in the walls of the leg arteries which limits blood supply to leg muscles. People with PAD are more exposed to risks of cardiovascular diseases, heart attacks and strokes.
BHF said that PAD exhibited no symptoms in around 50 percent of the patients. If untreated, the leg tissue may start to die, resulting to gangrene and critical limb ischemia. This has been the cause why around 9,000 Brits have to undergo leg amputations every year.
"Peripheral arterial disease can lead to horrific consequences and the silent nature of the condition means that opportunities to diagnose and treat it are often missed," Dr. Mike Knapton, BHF's associate medical director, said in a report of BT. "We do know that stopping smoking is the single most effective way of reducing your risk of developing this potentially deadly disease."
According to Bijan Modarai, lead researcher of the BHF-funded study, PAD usually goes undiagnosed. "Although there are half a million people in the UK officially suffering with peripheral arterial disease, I estimate that there could be over one million living with the condition."
"Approximately 30,000 adults have the most severe form of the condition, which results in at least 9,000 amputations per year," Modarai added. "I see patients -- the vast majority of whom are smokers -- repeatedly having to go through painful surgery to ease the suffering of peripheral arterial disease."
